Vegas, Baby!

In 2003, some of my friends started turning the big 4-0! In order to celebrate this event, we decided to take a group road trip to Vegas. We also celebrated the Sept/Oct birthdays at that time too, since the trip was made in late Sept.

On the way to Vegas, we stopped at the Hoover Dam for a much needed stretch and to take a few pictures.
Once at Vegas, the fun began. We checked into our hotel, went to dinner, and then headed to the bars and casinos. Following the advertising campaign "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" you will see only one juicy detail, and that's saved for the very end of this post.

The next morning, we met for a breakfast (brunch) buffet and then headed down the strip to check out the other hotels and casinos.

Checking out the Flamingo hotel

Lobby of the Alladin

Our group has an orange plastic martini glass that we bring along when we travel. Its name is Benigni. Here Benigni makes an appearance with a statue in Ceasar's Palace. We also got some of the costumed people who walk around Ceasar's to pose with Benigni, but they wouldn't hold or touch it. We had to place it on the ground in front of them. (After Phil took it into the bathroom with him, none of us were too eager to touch it either!)

We also took Benigni to visit "Paris", and pose near this fountain. We decided to scope out Paris, since many of us will be staying here in July to attend the AG.
Arc de Triomphe at "Paris"
Eiffel Tower
at night and with Benigni
Stratosphere
Bellagio

On the second night, we had our big fancy birthday dinner at a steakhouse. We had a great time, despite the inappropriate t-shirt that Phil wore and Doug sweating up a storm as he tried to complete a giant steak. We saw his arteries blocking with each bite. Pamela, the lone vegetarian in our group wasn't too thrilled about having bloody steak juice splashed from a passed plate and across her lap.

The next morning we all headed to brunch, then packed back in the van for the trip home. Hopefully this is the start of an annual birthday roadtrip.